Tension and Rhetoric

“The key to effective exploratory writing is to create tension between alternative views.” While reading the chapter in The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, about the exploratory process (p. 56), this sentence resonated with me. I think it would have been helpful if the authors discussed in more detail about this tension. Are there different kinds of tension? Are there other ways in which we can achieve tension? Clearly, in the scope of an entire essay, one kind of tension is to present various viewpoints from different sources. Following suit, our thoughts and ideas on those sources creates tension by presenting an array of, and often conflicting, viewpoints.

For example, how do we address a kind of tension through rhetoric? Should we use different rhetorical strategies throughout our essays to generate this “tension?” Should we use one rhetorical strategy throughout the essay to develop a strong, consistent, and clear voice? These are questions that I find perplexing. Although the premise of an exploratory essay is to question and “dwell” in a pool of ideas, I still think that underlying expository argumentative rhetorical strategies exist.

I will write my own expository essay in the near future, and I will have to make choices not only about how I will explore the topic of the paper, but how I will structure the essay rhetorically. My inclination is to use various strategies to reveal a more circular and thoughtful approach to the essay. Of course, while the purpose of the essay is to “explore” a question, I do believe that there are exploratory essays that use only one or two rhetorical strategies to address multiple ideas from different angles. The outcome of those essays reveals a singular voice instead of an ever-changing one.

With regard to the chapter in Boice’s book, I think there is a crossover with Ramage, Bean, and Johnson’s book with regard to how we should approach and begin exploratory essays. I gleaned from the combination of the two chapters how to begin before I’m ready to write an exploratory essay, in particular. I specifically liked the quote Boice borrowed from Sylvia Boorstein about not hurrying “to breathe the next breathe—the next breath will arise whenever it is ready (p. 126). I found her words reassuring that writing (including expository writing) is a natural process.

Both of the essays were quite interesting. The chapter in the Allyn & Bacon Guide caused me to think about tension and rhetorical strategies while the chapter in Advice for New Faculty Members revealed to me how to begin the writing process early—an how to just relax.